Tennis camp and Triathlon on tap in Boerne

Published 12:00 am, Thursday, July 15, 2010

With youth baseball winding down and football still only a shimmering mirage on the summer horizon, Boerne sports fans will be turning their attention to tennis and triathlons this month.

The Sixth Annual City of Boerne Tennis Tournament is being held this weekend at the city courts. Play gets underway at 8:30 a.m. Friday and will continue through most of the day on Sunday. The tournament pits singles and doubles players in 12 different age and skills brackets ranging from players as young as 12 to adults.

Boerne Champion tennis coach Joey Cantu's annual “Tennis Across Texas” series of summer camps also continues this month with the BISD Tennis Camp, open to players of all skill levels from age nine to 18. Registration forms are available online at the Boerne Champion and Boerne High School booster club sites. The five-day camp cost $125 and gets underway Monday morning, July 26 at the Champion tennis courts. Registration will be cut off at 64 players.

Cantu and fellow coach Tony Martinez launched the “Tennis Across Texas” series in Pearsall in 1999. It has grown to include camps covering a geographical area from Amarillo to Boerne. Instructors include college and high school coaches and some of the top collegiate players.

Registration is also underway for the annual Small Texan Triathlon and Tiny Texas Triathlon, which will both be run on Sunday, July 25, starting at Boerne City Lake.

The Small Texan Triathlon gets underway at 8 a.m. with a 1,500-meter swim, followed by a 45K bike through the surrounding hill country and a 10K run to the finish line at the lake.

The Tiny Texan is a sprint event intended for either beginning triathletes or for those who simply prefer going for faster times over a shorter course. It gets underway at 8:30 a.m. with an 800-meter swim, followed by a 25K bike race and a 5K run to the finish line.

Competitors can register for either race at Britton's Bicycle Shop, located at 16636, Highway 281 North in San Antonio. Both races are sanction by U.S.A. Triathlon. Awards will go to the top overall male and female finishers and to the top three finishers in each of 15 age brackets ranging from ages 15-19 on up to age 85 and over.

The Texas Sports Writers Association has placed three Boerne Greyhounds on its annual Class 3A All-State Baseball team and has named two Boerne Champion Chargers to its Class 4A All-State Baseball Team.

Boerne High pitchers Dylan Boss and Ross Kennell and second baseman Garrett Tully all earned third team roster spots from the writers. Coaches had placed Boss and Tully on their second team all-state squad. Dylan and Boss both graduated this spring, but Kennell will be returning for his senior year.

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Boerne Champion shortstop Blake Allemand and outfielder Taylor Davis each earned honorable mention from the state's sports writers. Allemand had been a second team choice of coaches. Davis has graduated, but Allemand will be back next season.

Other San Antonio area players also fared better with coaches than with the writers. Comfort shortstop Will Pace was the coaches' choice for second-team shortstop, but the 2010 graduate failed to win any mention from the writers.